One-Third of Mortgage Holders Don't Know Their Rate

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Feb. 2, 2015, 6:23 PM GMT

Ask any American how much money they make for a living, and they'll tell you down to the weekly penny. Ask what interest rate governs their single-largest monthly expense, and more than a third don't know.

"Your mortgage rate is one of the most important numbers in your financial life, and there's a good chance that one of your neighbors has no idea regarding how much he or she is paying," said Holden Lewis, a senior mortgage analyst at Bankrate.com. Bankrate.com surveyed a national sample of 1,000 adults and found that 35 percent did not know their mortgage interest rate. One in 7 mortgage holders were either "not too confident," "not at all confident" or had no idea about their rate.

Most borrowers know within a general range, especially if they bought their home or refinanced their loan within the past five years.Lenders say the finding is not at all surprising. Homebuying is stressful, and most borrowers are honed in on what their monthly payment will be, not how they get to that payment.